Anambra State residents have lamented ‘last minutes’ shopping’ they engaged in ahead of two consecutive days of Monday and Tuesday, in respect of rumoured Tuesday’s sit-at-home order in the Southeast by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

October 4 was rumored to be a sit-at-home day in solidarity with IPOB’s leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose case was slated for that day, but this was debunked by the secessionist group, through its spokesman, Emma Powerful, asking people to go about their activities.

The residents, mostly public servants, who travelled to their villages last Friday to return in early hours of Wednesday, regretted the waste they incurred in stockpiling food items for their families for fear of running out of food during the lockdown.

Read Also; Nnamdi Kanu to IPOB: Stop enforcing sit-at-home orders

A civil servant in Onitsha, who simply identified herself as Esther, narrated how she reluctantly rushed to the market to make purchases on seeing others make last minutes’ shopping.

She said: “Things are worsening these days for us that have families. Bachelors and spinsters may not know what we are passing through. I pray God should intervene. Perpetrators of this hardship will live to regret their deeds.”

A trader in Nnewi, who pleaded anonymity, said he was among those who made last minutes’ purchases against Tuesday order before it was cancelled, lamenting that it cost him N2000 to be in his hometown with his family, from Onitsha.

He said: “The Igbo are just punishing themselves because of their sit-at-home order, which they observe every Monday. This doesn’t concern states in other geopolitical zones of the country.

“The economy of the Southeast is dwindling. IPOB has reiterated that the non-existent Monday’s sit-at-home exercise being observed is not from them. This is a self-made problem.”

Shops, markets, courts, schools, banks, among others remained shut yesterday. Tricycle operators and few commercial buses plied the roads with small number of passengers.

Partial movement was, however, recorded, as residents came out from their homes at about 2pm to attend engagements that included town union meetings, club meetings, among others.